I'll Make You Smile
by VKMandy
Summary: Amanda finds herself in Soul Society and everyone wonders why the first place she ended up was on Kuchiki property...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Amanda felt worse than ever. Her parents kept telling her she would get better, but she knew they were lying. She'd had pneumonia for almost a month now and each day her condition would worsen. After her parents and the nurses had left the room, she pulled out her favorite novel, put her headphones on so she could listen to her favorite band, and tried to enjoy her last bit of life. Amanda had a feeling this would be her last night alive.

She felt someone carrying her. Her body was bouncing up and down continuously and her neck was beginning to ache. _What is going on? Did something go wrong and they're rushing me to the emergency room? Shouldn't they be a bit less rough…? _But when she thought about and focused on her body, she realized she felt better than ever. The pain was gone (well, except for her neck…). She tried to open her eyes but couldn't. She felt extremely tired for some reason. Finally, the person carrying her set her down on…_grass? _She managed to open her eyes slightly, enough to see a figure running away from her. She decided she must be dreaming, so she closed her eyes again and hoped she could stay like this for a while longer, so she wouldn't have to feel the pain again anytime soon.

Amanda felt something warm. She opened her eyes and saw she was outside. The sun was warming her cold skin and there were cherry blossom petals flowing all around. _This must be heaven. _Though she had always been skeptical, there seemed to be no other explanation. She arose from her position, her back stiff after lying on the ground. She knew she was dead. There were no places like this around the area she lived, and she didn't remember anything after falling asleep on the hospital bed. Amanda noticed she was in the same clothes she wore when she was last in the hospital. She was lucky that after the first two weeks the nurses agreed to let her wear her normal clothes rather than the flimsy gown all patients were required to wear. That would be embarrassing, walking around in that gown with her backside showing.

She started walking and eventually saw what appeared to be an immaculate mansion. Confusion settled inside her mind. _Does God have a house? _She started laughing softly to herself because of her thoughts. Suddenly, she saw a flash of white appear between the trees. _Another person? _She began jogging in that direction, but when she reached the area, no one was there. She sighed to herself and started slowly towards the house to see if she could find someone who could explain things to her. Before she could walk two steps, someone grabbed her arm and she was dragged against a body. A very hard body. There was something sharp against her neck.

"Anything you say could get you killed. Speak wisely as to why you are here."

Amanda's heart raced and for some reason, she could only think of how incredibly beautiful and sexy that voice was. Somehow, a part of her brain kicked in gear and told her to be careful as this person was obviously dangerous. No time to fantasize. She didn't even know what he looked like.

"I don't know where I am." She whispered

"You are trespassing on Kuchiki property." The smooth, low voice said.

"So you must be God then." She said while shakily laughing. Man, she acted weird when in dangerous situations…

He was silent for a moment.

"You must be a new soul. But why are you here and not in the Rukongai district?"

"The what?"

"You aren't a shinigami. Your rietsu is nothing special. You seem to be no threat."

He seemed to be talking to himself. Though he hadn't loosened his grip on her, the sword had been lowered and he seemed to trust her story. What little of a story she had, anyway. "This makes no sense, come with me."

Finally he let her go, except for her arm. He wasn't hurting her, but she knew there was no way to escape his grip. She looked at him for the first time.

The first thing that drew her attention were his amazing eyes. They were a lovely shade of gray, though they seemed very cold. His mouth seemed chiseled into a slight frown. She knew if he smiled, no one could compare with his beauty. She had never used that term for a man before. His beauty was purely masculine, though. His hair was jet black, with some sort of white tubes holding part of it. She would try to ask him about those later if she got the chance. Right now, he seemed to only be focusing on getting to his destination and she was afraid to interrupt. Amanda noticed the people they passed were all dressed the same and were looking at her as if she were some circus freak. Maybe she looked wretched considering she had been sick for a long time and had just woke up.

Finally he stopped in front of two sliding doors and knocked.

"Come in." A scruffy voice said on the other side.

The man opened the doors and dragged her inside. She looked and around the simple, but elegant room. At a desk sat a man who looked like he was at least 200 years old. His beard was pure white and extremely long, though, surprisingly, it was very neat. Likewise, his mustache and eyebrows were the same stark white and very long.

"What is this about, Kuchiki?" He eyed Amanda warily.

"I found this girl wondering around my property and she has no recollection of how she got there. I can't understand how she got there if she is a regular soul. She should've ended up in the Rukongai district but she seemed genuinely confused when I mentioned it. I don't detect a threat from her. But, I find all this suspicious." He explained.

The old man stared at her for some time. She was beginning to feel very uncomfortable and wished she could just…no, she can't go home. She wouldn't think on that right now, if she did she would probably cry uncontrollably.

"I see. Yes, that is very unusual. But I can think of no reason for her to have ended up on your lands. Why don't you keep her at your manor for the time being and keep an eye on her. Until we can sort this out, it's hard to tell what is going on." And with that said, he went back to doing whatever he was doing before. She wanted to scream that she was right there and they couldn't decide her future without consulting her as well, but the finality of his statement brooked no argument and she was afraid of what would happen if she did attempt to argue. She looked up at the man she now knew as Kuchiki to see his reaction. Though his face still seemed impassive, she thought his eyes looked eve more cold, if that was possible.

They left the office and started heading back to where they came from. She noticed that he bowed before leaving the room which she found odd. _Maybe I went back in time somehow…_Those thoughts left her as the reality of the situation hit her. She was going to be living with him. Her heart seemed to turn flips every time she repeated that to herself. Amanda found herself wanting to see him smile. She decided to make it her personal quest to make that happen. She felt like one of those heroines in those historical romances she used to read, always trying to melt the heart of those stubborn nobles. While she was sure it would be easy for her to fall in love with him, she was also sure it would be impossible for him to do the same with her.


	2. Chapter 2

Here is chapter two. It was kinda hard to write for some reason…I was going to go all out with the honorifics and all that stuff, but it turned out to be too hard to write because the girl is obviously not Japanese and so it was just…difficult to explain things. So, just try to bear with it without the formal stuff. Also, I wasn't real sure about the whole memories stuff…I just wrote whatever worked best with this story. So, just take it for what it is, and try not to do too much compare and contrasting, lol.

Note: I do not own Bleach…

This chapter is dedicated to my first reviewer, Sakura Fuyu!

**Chapter Two**

They were still walking and she wondered if maybe he was lost. She still didn't know his name, though she knew he was called Kuchiki. But she had no idea if that was a first name, last name, or nickname.

"Umm, excuse me."

He reluctantly looked down at her and raised an eyebrow in question.

"May I ask what your name is? I am going to be living with you after all."

"Byakuya Kuchiki."

She found his name to be odd, but she decided she liked it. It seemed to suit him perfectly. She was afraid to repeat it out loud because she might mess it up. She would practice saying it when she was alone.

"I'm Amanda."

"Family name?" Byakuya asked.

"Schreiber." This made her think of her family, which then made her feel depressed. They were probably at her funeral. She found that weird considering she felt entirely human and no different than before, but her real body was probably already in the ground. Amanda shuddered involuntarily at the thought of her body being underground. She had always been claustrophobic.

"Is something wrong?" He didn't sound like he really cared, so she didn't bother explaining.

"No."

Finally his home came into view and they were inside. As soon as they stepped through the threshold, he released her and began walking away from her. A woman wearing a yukata came towards them.

"She will be staying with us. Put her in a room and help her get settled." He ordered.

The woman bowed in acceptance and smiled at her.

"Hello, my name is Kame, come with me please."

Amanda followed the woman down a long hallway and eventually into what she assumed would be her room from now on.

"This will be your room, you are lucky to have one with its own bathroom. May I ask your name?"

"Amanda." She liked Kame, she seemed to be genuinely friendly.

"I hope you will be comfortable here. Do you have any clothes with you?"

"No."

"Well, I'll be back with some for you."

"Thank you."

Kame bowed and took her leave.

Amanda sighed and fell onto the futon. She should not be tired, she should be too nervous to do much of anything considering she was in an unfamiliar place with people she had never met before. She still didn't really know where she was. She could hardly keep her eyes open, though. Must be from all the excitement.

There was a soft knock on the door that forced her to get out of bed. She slid the door open and Kame took an armful of what appeared to be dresses to her closet. Dresses? Amanda hated wearing dresses. She much preferred her t-shirts and jeans. After Kame had hung them all up, she turned and began towards the door.

"Dinner will be served at six o'clock, please do not be late."

"Where's the dining room?"

"I'll take you there when the time comes if you wish," Kame offered.

"Yes, please. Thanks a lot." Amanda really liked this girl.

"I'll see you then." Kame left Amanda alone with nothing to do besides take a long shower. After the shower, she felt even more tired. Showers and baths had always made her sleepy. She went to the bed and took a nap wearing only her under garments. She didn't want to get her new clothes wrinkled.

About an hour later, her eyes opened and she saw someone leaving her room whose back was almost as good looking as his front. Amanda wondered why he would've been in her room, but soon quit thinking about that as she realized she was in her underwear on top of the sheets. Her whole body turned a bright red and she jumped up and quickly ran to her closet. When she grabbed a piece of clothing that was a nice shade of purple, she realized they weren't dresses, but yakatas. She had never wore one, but had seen them in her mangas. She put it on, but couldn't tie it for the life of her. Well, she got it tied, but not prettily. Luckily, Kame came about that time and she tied it in a bow for her. Amanda looked at herself in the mirror and decided she liked the clothing, the purple seemed to compliment her shoulder-length, light brown hair and blue eyes. Kame then began escorting her towards the dining room.

"If you go through these doors, you'll be there."

"You aren't eating with me?" Amanda wanted her to because she didn't want to be alone with strangers. She was sure that she would turn bright red next time she looked at Byakuya.

"No, servants dine elsewhere." Kame looked at Amanda like she was crazy.

"Oh," Amanda replied awkwardly.

Kame smiled and left her. She sighed and tried to force herself to not get embarrassed if she saw a certain someone on the other side of these doors.

"Are you going to enter or not?" A smooth voice asked.

Oh god…Her skin was becoming warm already with both embarrassment and excitement and her heart felt like it was now in her stomach. She cleared her throat and slid the door open. She didn't trust her voice to try to speak for fear it would either crack or shake.

She was surprised there was no one else in the room. Amanda was alone with Byakuya. She sighed and sat down. He took a seat opposite her and she looked up at him. He seemed to be avoiding her gaze. His eyes were glaring at the wall and she was afraid it would melt if he didn't stop.

Someone opened the door and she expected it to be someone with food but some girl with black hair and purple eyes came in, looking a bit flustered. She sat down a couple chairs from Amanda. It was silent for a few moments before the girl spoke.

"Hi, I heard what happened. I tried to come by your room earlier, but no one answered when I knocked." The girl said. She seemed friendly.

Instantly Amanda was reminded of the incident she was trying to forget and she felt herself grow red again.

"Sorry, I was really tired after I took a shower and fell asleep."

"Oh, that's understandable. You seem to have been through a lot today."

Amanda just smiled and nodded. She realized that this could possibly be Byakuya's wife.

"I'm Rukia, by the way. Byakuya's sister."

"I'm Amanda. It's nice to meet you." Amanda was so relieved, she knew it showed.

She looked over at Byakuya, but he seemed to be ignoring their conversation. The food came and when they were finished eating, Rukia followed Amanda to her room.

"I'm glad there's someone else living here now. It gets lonely because Byakuya ignores me most of the time. I never really heard the whole story, could you tell me?"

Amanda told Rukia everything that had happened since she woke up on the grass. By the end, Rukia looked confused and a little suspicious.

"It doesn't make sense that you came here rather than the Rukongai."

"What is that? Your brother mentioned it earlier."

"It's where average souls go when they cross over." Rukia explained.

"Cross over? You mean, die?"

"Yeah, someone must've given you a soul burial. Do you remember?"

"No…" Amanda thought this all sounded…weird.

"Well, it's common for souls to forget after they come here. But you still remember your former life, that's odd…Well, those memories will fade eventually, too." Rukia said.

"They'll fade? I'll forget about my family?" Amanda felt her eyes beginning to sting.

"Unfortunately, yes. There's nothing that can be done about it. It's actually odd that you still remember, but sometimes it happens because souls were so close with their family that they do everything they can to hold on to memories."

"I was close with my family. I guess I must be fighting not to forget them." Amanda thought about this for a while, but deemed it too sad right now, so she changed the subject.

"What is a soul burial?"

"It's when a shinigami sends you to the soul society."

"A…shinigami?"

She saw Rukia whip out a drawing pad, though she had no idea where it came from. Rukia drew something on the tablet and then held it up for Amanda to see.

"Shinigami are responsible for sending good souls to soul society and defeating bad souls called hollows," Rukia explained as she pointed to different drawings on the page. Amanda tried not to laugh at how poorly drawn the images were.

"Pretty much everyone you encounter who isn't in the Rukongai is a shinigami, " Rukia went on to explain.

"So, you're a shinigami?" Amanda asked.

"Yes, and so is Byakuya. But he is much more skilled than I am, he's a captain."

"Interesting."

They were quiet for a few minutes before Amanda decided to ask about Byakuya.

"So why does Byakuya ignore you?"

"Well, I was adopted into the Kuchiki clan a while back after Byakuya's wife died, who was also my sister. I didn't know that Hisana was my sister and I never understood why he chose to ignore me after he wanted me to be part of his family until recently. He told me he adopted me because it was Hisana's last wish, but the reason he was always so cold to me was so he wouldn't disappoint the elders any more than he already had. They were against his marriage to Hisana because she wasn't of noble blood, so after he granted her last wish, he decided to not do anything disrespectful again."

"Wait…he's a…noble?" Amanda thought it odd that there were nobles and such in this place.

"Yes."

"That's funny, when I first met him I remember briefly thinking he seemed to act like one."

"Yeah, he always has that stop-wasting-my-time look about him when anyone speaks to him, " Rukia said. She seemed to be reminiscing about times of speaking with Byakuya.

"Yeah, I noticed that." The more she learned, the more she thought it impossible to get close to him. A dead wife? Those men were always cold. Not that it wasn't understandable, really.

"Is he still single?" Amanda tried to make the question sound nonchalant.

Rukia raised her brow before answering. "Yes, why?"

"Just wondering." Amanda looked anywhere besides at Rukia.

"Are you…interested in him?"

"Well, he is pretty good looking, you know? But after hearing what you just said, I really don't expect anything to come of it," Amanda sounded depressed even to her own ears.

"A lot of girls like him, but no one is brave enough to talk to him about it. I hear them talk about it all the time. But, if you don't try, you'll never know," Rukia reasoned. She seemed a little disgusted by the topic, though.

"I suppose you're right, but I still think there's no way he would ever be interested in me anyway, considering I'm not a noble. And since he seems like such a stickler for rules, I don't think it'd ever work out between us," Amanda sighed. She thought about telling Rukia about how Byakuya had seen her almost naked, but decided against it. It was embarrassing enough to think about, she didn't want to talk about it. She felt comfortable around Rukia, though. She seemed like the kind of person you could tell a secret to and rest assured knowing no one else would ever hear about it.

Amanda looked at the clock and noticed it was almost nine. She wasn't tired at all because of her earlier nap.

"I feel like going outside, do you want to go on a walk?" Amanda asked Rukia.

"I would, but I'm feeling tired. I think I'm going to go to bed. I'll see ya tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, see ya. Goodnight."

She watched Rukia leave the room and fell back onto the bed. She tried make herself feel sleepy, but her body was restless. Amanda got up and tried to find a door that led to the outside. Finally, she found the front door and started walking towards the cherry blossoms. They had always been her favorite type of tree. As she walked, she began thinking about what Rukia had said about forgetting her family. The memories were still so vivid in her mind, she found it hard to believe that they would soon disappear. Amanda recalled all the times she and her mom would go on road trips (her dad would stay behind because he wasn't the traveling type). Her favorite ones were when they would go visit her aunt who lived a two days drive away. Halfway through they would always get into an argument and not talk for a few hours, but they always made up because one of them would do something stupid that they couldn't help but laugh about. Thinking about this now she began to laugh aloud, and when she did she also felt hot tears rolling down her cheeks.

She sat with her back against one of the beautiful trees and just tried to recall every detail about her life. She already found that some things were becoming blurry. Amanda then lost control of her emotions and began to sob with her head resting on her knees.

She felt someone's presence and looked up to see Byakuya staring down at her.

--

Terribly sorry if there were any spelling or grammar errors.

Thanks for reading!

-VKMandy (Incase anyone would happen to wonder, VK stands for Vampire Knight, best manga ever. Read it.)


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